In a move sure to give hope to teenage scribblers everywhere, the diary of a 15-year-old self-confessed “geek” has been optioned by Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks, making her reportedly the youngest non-actor to make a deal with the movie company.

Maya Van Wagenen’s journal documents how she used advice from a 1950s book, Betty Cornell’s Glamour Guide for Teens, to win acceptance from her peers at a new school.

When she was 11, Van Wagenen’s family moved to the tough town of Brownsville, Texas, where she began her curious social experiment with Cornell’s apparently dated advice.

Earlier this year, Penguin snapped up her work for a two-book deal to be called Popular: Vintage Wisdom for the Modern Geek. The contract was reportedly worth about $300,000.

“Funny, beautifully observed, and sweetly sincere, Maya’s experiment takes the reader on a journey that tells an important story about friendship and self-confidence that every teen — and adult — needs to read,” said Penguin’s Julie Strauss-Gabel. “Her voice instantly grabbed my attention. Maya is not only a strong teen voice, she is a standout writer of any age.”

According to the industry website, Deadline Hollywood, publishers involved in the book auction “went wild” for the story, which tells how Van Wagenen “found social footing by following such advice as: always wearing white gloves, using pearls as a fashion accessory and never forgetting that a girdle can be a girl’s best friend.

“The most important lessons conveyed were timeless ones like being open and honest, and kind,” said Deadline Hollywood. “She found that each social clique was distrustful of the others, and that all of the kids bore similar insecurities. She was able to find common ground and feel for the first time like she belonged.”

A long-time assistant of Spielberg, Macosko Krieger was so taken by Van Wagenen’s story, she championed it to her boss, which resulted in the movie deal being signed for an undisclosed sum.